Car seat safety…it’s a subject we’ve talked about often on the Parent Report. Now there are some new recommendations…that kids should ride in rear-facing car seats until they’re at least two-years old, instead of just a year old.

Jennifer Hoekstra of the Michigan-based Safe Kids Program says for toddlers, rear-facing car seats make sense. She says it’s a big improvement over the usual car seat that faces toward the front of the car.

Hoekstra emphasizes the reason for waiting until a child is two before turning them around inside the car.

According to an analysis of five years of U.S. crash data, 1-year-old kids are five times less likely to be injured in a crash if they are in a rear-facing car seat. These are recommendations from the American Academy of Pediatrics and the National Highway Traffic Administration.

Some advice might seem a bit extreme, but Hoekstra says it has its benefits.

Doug Cope

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Doug Cope is a reporter/anchor at WBZ, and host of the daily feature “The Parent Report”, which reports on issues involving children and parenting.
Doug has both a broadcasting and public affairs background, having serv...